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the relation QOP-Q(y,z) indicates that parameter
y is an output parameter of query z.
found via the IS services as a result of searching the
required fields; the report's relevant stakeholders;
and the business processes for which the report is
applicable. In case the linked IS does not provide
service for extracting information, there will be an
option to present the decision-maker a link to that
system for further usage. Moreover, the KW-CM
environment should include additional place for
unstructured information where the stakeholders
can express insights or share experience while
discussing issues concerning a specific DW report.
In addition, the decisions taken following the
analysis of the DW report can also be managed
in such environment, including interfacing orga-
nizational decision support systems, if such exist.
The benefit of such environment is obvious when
tracking previous DW report activities within the
organization.
The KW-CM defined above serves as an
organizational transactive memory, which links
knowledge items, represented by OLAP reports,
with other information items that exist in other IS,
while connecting them to relevant stakeholders
in the context of a business processes.
Guideline 5:
The organizational ontology should
define for each query its input and output param-
eters, assuming that these parameters are aligned
with the service parameters. Therefore, the terms
of the service parameters and the query input and
output parameters should share the same termi-
nology. For example, if a DW report aggregates
information regarding the usage of a specific
feature, based on specific user age attribute, the
ontology will include Qi=“UsageByAge” which
creates the report with QIPi=“user-age”, as the
query input parameter, followed a relation of
QIP-Q(“user-age”, “UsageByAge”), as well as
QOPi=”customer-name” as the query output
parameter, and a relation of QOP-Q(”customer-
name”, “UsageByAge”). In addition, the ontology
may include a service entitled “CustomersBy-
Age” that has an input parameter of “user-age”
that collects information from the ERP. There-
fore, the ontology will also include the relation
SQ(“CustomersByAge”, “UsageByAge”) that
connects the service “CustomersByAge” to its
related “UsageByAge“ query.
concLusion And
future reseArch
kW-cM environment
A
KW-CM environment
is part of the KW-CM
which defines the interface where the KW-CM
gathered information will be presented to its
decision-makers. In addition to the architecture
of the KW-CM, its functionality should also be
defined, including its search and information
gathering capabilities. The design of such an
environment is beyond the scope of the current
paper but there is a need to explicitly define its
requirements.
The KW-CM aggregating information should
be presented via a collaborative environment rather
than in a DW report. This environment includes a
linkage to the specific DW report; the aggregative
information, hence the relevant records which were
The requirement of facilitating the usage of IS and
DW, in particular, during decision-making pro-
cesses is well acknowledged (Tsoukas, H., Vladi-
mirou, 2001; Stenmark, 2002; Holten, 2003; Mad-
dalena, 2004). This paper presents an enhancement
to using a DW by embedding a knowledge layer
on top of existing DW and OLAP applications.
The rationale behind this stems from the need for
embedding knowledge processes within business
processes in a context which is relevant for their
stakeholders. The KW-CM approach addresses
both needs, managing the structured knowledge
that come from the organizational IS, business
processes and stakeholders ontology, as well as
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